Homeless people are dying in Chatham-Kent, but a local shelter hopes they won't be forgotten.
Hope Haven, a homeless shelter in Chatham, has started monthly memorials to remember those who have lost their lives.
Hope Haven General Manager Loree Bailey said she can recall eight local homeless people who have died over the last two years, including two young men who died over the Christmas holidays. Bailey said the eight deaths is a very low number because tracking the homeless is nearly impossible and the reporting of their deaths needs to get better.
"When somebody disappears from a community and they aren't very well connected to other people, their disappearance may not be investigated because it's just not known. The reporting of deaths is just full of holes," said Bailey.
She said the number of homeless people in Chatham-Kent is increasing and more services are needed. Bailey wants the public to know that work is still underway to support and give hope to the homeless and the people who love them.
"Really got us thinking about the people who were left behind. The folks who were grieving them and may have been looking for them and were impacted by their deaths," she added.
Bailey wants the memorial services to inspire the community to do more to support the homeless population.
The first homeless memorial will be held on January 31, 2022 at 6 p.m. behind Hope Haven at 183 Wellington Street West in Chatham. Subsequent memorial ceremonies will be held on the first Monday of every month at the same location starting in March.
Hope Haven is open daily from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. and overnight from 7 p.m. until 7 a.m. when the weather gets colder (-12C or below). It's open 24 hours a day when there's an extreme cold weather alert.
Last weekend, Hope Haven welcomed 57 people in for a warm meal and a hot shower and made sure everyone had warm socks and gloves.
Meanwhile, a new warming centre has opened on James Street in Wallaceburg. The centre at 719 James Street is currently open between Friday and Monday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and during declared extreme cold weather days, but the partners hope to soon be able to keep the facility open daily until the end of April.
